Uganda’s Insurance Challenge Moves From 53 Ideas to a Test of Real-World Reach

Millions of Ugandans remain underserved by insurance, even as the industry looks for ways to grow. A competition in Kampala brought that gap into focus: 53 innovators proposed ways to make cover more accessible and affordable, but just 10 completed the final five-day hackathon, an intensive development workshop. Otic Group emerged as the overall winner, receiving $10,000, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct). The next test is whether the proposals can become workable products for farmers, small businesses and families.

The Insurance Innovation Challenge was organised by IRA in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). At its awards ceremony, Acting IRA Chief Executive Officer Sande Protazio urged insurers to change how they design and deliver protection. He said the sector retained considerable untapped potential despite progress over the past decade, and that familiar ways of doing business would not produce a different outcome.

Reaching people conventional insurance misses

Protazio linked the push for innovation to Uganda’s ambition of expanding its economy tenfold by 2040. Insurance, he said, needs new approaches if it is to widen coverage and increase its contribution to the economy. He placed particular emphasis on products suited to ordinary Ugandans and people working in micro, small and medium-sized businesses, rather than relying on conventional offerings.

For UNDP Country Representative Nwanne Vwede-Obahor, the challenge is about more than paying people after something goes wrong. She said insurance can help households, farmers and entrepreneurs withstand setbacks and support growth. The competition forms part of UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, which works with governments and insurers on protection against risks affecting agriculture, health, small businesses and the climate, alongside inclusive insurance—cover designed to reach underserved groups.

UNDP’s Nwanne Vwede-Obahor said insurance should enable growth and resilience, not simply compensate people after a loss.

That requires products built around customers’ actual needs, Vwede-Obahor said. Effective partnerships and distribution channels must help cover reach the intended users, while claims need fair and prompt handling. Organisers said broader access to insurance could reduce exposure to climate shocks and protect livelihoods, particularly for farmers and small businesses. They framed the challenge as a contribution to Uganda’s climate adaptation efforts as well as its development ambitions.

Beyond prizes, a test of staying power

UNDP said it wants solutions that can remain financially viable, expand their reach and serve communities over the long term. That sets a higher bar than producing a promising competition entry. Vwede-Obahor encouraged participants who did not win to keep working on their proposals and said UNDP’s support would include helping promising ideas mature. Missing out on prize money, she argued, should not mean abandoning a potentially useful solution.

The effort also extends to the skills and rules needed to support new products. Through the facility, UNDP works with governments and insurance companies to strengthen legislation, regulation and institutional capacity. Vwede-Obahor said the initiative builds on a partnership with the Insurance Training College that includes developing Uganda’s first cohort of internationally certified inclusive insurance trainers. She said skills, innovation and regulatory support could help successful models spread within Uganda and beyond.

Protazio praised the finalists for challenging established practices and developing practical responses to gaps in insurance access and delivery. But the awards are only one stage. The next phase is implementation: refining the ideas, testing them, addressing regulatory requirements and taking them to underserved communities. Whether those steps produce durable, accessible cover is the outcome to watch.